


Brothers in Arms

by lttledcve, spinncr



Series: Valar Dohaeris [12]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Family Feels, Jon has words for jaime, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:02:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21759526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lttledcve/pseuds/lttledcve, https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinncr/pseuds/spinncr
Summary: “I applaud your consideration for your sisters, and your dedication to your duty, Jon, but—”Jon snorts. “My father says everything that comes before ‘but’ is horseshit.”***Jon confronts Jaime, Jaime considers the meaning of 'family.'
Relationships: Jaime Lannister & Jon Snow, Jaime Lannister/Sansa Stark
Series: Valar Dohaeris [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1393039
Comments: 15
Kudos: 217





	Brothers in Arms

**Author's Note:**

> This installment is mostly just an interlude filling in some gaps before we get to the next bit, which coincidentally is Spinncr's favorite installment of the whole series. 0,0 We hope you enjoy!
> 
> On that note, we'd like to thank everyone for their comments and kudos. We read each and every one, and they mean the world to us. Please remember that we write this stuff for ourselves first, because we love these characters and love exploring them. We share them with you out of the hope you'll enjoy them as much as we do. If you don't enjoy our writing style, or the characters in our story, feel free to read elsewhere. We appreciate constructive criticism, but if it's not constructive, we don't want to hear it. Be considerate to other readers, and to your authors as well. Fic writing is hard work and it is easy to get disheartened! 
> 
> For our subscribers who always leave us their thoughts after each new section, we love you so much, and are so grateful for your continued interest <3 <3

The first day of the tourney consists of archery and the first round of jousts. Jaime watches from behind the king as knights clash time and again in the tiltyard, to the roaring approval of the crowd. Jon Arryn had arrived back in town just last night, silently resigned to the tourney in his name. Jaime had not been on duty then, but he had heard from Ser Arys Oakheart that the Lord Hand had left his briefing with the king and acting hand, and immediately shut himself up in his solar with Ned Stark, despite having just spoken with him for three hours beforehand. 

Jaime knows what would have been discussed, and despite having played no role in this life, his heart still clamors at the thought. They’ve run out of time. He knows Sansa has a plan, but she hasn’t shared it with him, and he hasn’t been able to bring himself to ask. He’ll be on duty guarding Tommen tomorrow and the day after, as per his own request. The only reason he was not today, was because Ser Barristan and Ser Oakheart were competing in the jousts, and thus he had already been assigned to the king. 

He won’t fail Sansa in his promise though. He will not fail his family in this life. 

As noon draws close, he tries to think of a way to draw Sansa’s attention, knowing that soon Ser Meryn, the cunt, will be taking over his watch for the second shift of the day. She sits several rows away, however, below and to the right of the king, and he does not manage to catch her eye, though he is surprised to find his former squire glaring at him. 

Jon approaches in short work, no doubt after informing his father that he was leaving his post for a moment. 

“Jon. I’m surprised you’re not competing. I always told you you’d make a formidable opponent in the lists.” 

“I’m not a knight, and tourneys are not the Northron way. We don’t—”

“—play at war. Yes, yes, you’ve told me.” 

Jon’s jaw tics, and Jaime frowns. 

“Something bothering you?” 

“Not here.” 

Jon leads him away, waiting until they have cleared the thoroughfare entirely before stopping with a huff. 

“Ser Jaime,” he begins, voice terse, and suddenly Jaime has a sinking suspicion he knows what is about to occur.  _ Damn it, Sansa, some warning would’ve been nice. _

“I’ve sworn to shield my sisters’ backs and keep their counsel. Do I have any reason to believe you might be a threat to them?” 

Jaime narrows his eyes, insulted despite himself. He’s the  _ last _ person who would harm either girl, and surely Jon knows that.

“I don’t know.  _ Do  _ you?” 

Again, the boy’s jaw tics, and Jaime’s eyes narrow. They’ve talked about tells and tempers in King’s Landing, and Jon had become surprisingly adept at keeping his thoughts to himself in the years that he had squired for Jaime. For him to be slipping  _ now,  _ of all times—

“What were you doing in the girls’ bedchamber, Jaime?” Jon asks, and he’s got his hand on the pommel of his sword. 

Jaime sighs, but keeps an eye out for anyone listening. They may not need to worry about Varys’ little birds, but those are not the only ears around, either. He presumes Arya let something slip, though he has to hand it to the girl for lasting as long as she did. As long as Jon was the only one she told…

He pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m guessing Arya told you?  _ She’s _ the one that asked me to come, Jon. Sansa has…” he falters, not sure how to explain without getting Sansa into more trouble. “She’s got night terrors, and Arya happens to be aware that I have experience with those, as well. Have you ever had a night terror, Jon?” 

Jon rolls his eyes. “Everyone—” 

“ _ No.  _ Not a nightmare. Night terrors are different. Night terrors can be dangerous, sometimes. Sometimes, you can’t wake a person up from them, sometimes they lash out in fear in their dream, and their body reacts unconsciously. They…” He frowns at his hands, and then looks back at his squire. A cold sweat has broken out on his body, and he’s not even talking about his  _ own _ night terrors. 

“I applaud your consideration for your sisters, and your dedication to your duty, Jon, but—”

Jon snorts. “My father says everything that comes before  _ ‘but’  _ is horseshit.” 

“ _ Jon.  _ I know I shouldn’t have been there, but I didn’t dishonor your sister, and I wouldn’t. She needed help, that’s all.” 

“You danced with her last night at the feast. The Queen was watching you.”

That’s worrisome, although both he and Sansa had known she would be. The night had only gotten worse after his dance with his wife had been interrupted by his sister, but it had been manageable. He knows Jon has been given specifics warning about Cersei, and no doubt it seems like for all his insistence to the contrary, rathering than helping her, Jaime is only putting Sansa in harm’s way. He can practically see the frustration building behind Jon’s eyes, the disappointment shimmering there, and it aches in a way he hasn’t felt since he rode North so many years ago, away from the woman he had thought he loved, who had betrayed him and their children, and would lead the entire realm to ruin… To think that Jon is looking at him like this, it  _ hurts,  _ all the moreso because in this life...

Jaime actually  _ cares _ about Jon Snow. 

Before he had known for sure that Sansa,  _ his _ Sansa had come back, Jon was his only link to her, to the life he had lived in the North, battling the cold, the dead, the inevitable it had seemed. Everything he had worked toward since dying had been changing that outcome. The treaty with the North, the letter to Oberyn, the plotting with Tyrion. But Jon? Jon had been about connecting with the place that had become his home. And somehow, in just a few years’ time, Jon had become family to him, a little brother he could look out for, keep out of harm’s way. He’d also become a symbol of the  _ good _ that could come of this second chance. That it didn’t have to be years of torture reliving some of the worst years of his life, but that he could really help people, the way Sansa was always striving to do. 

There’s no way to communicate all of this to Jon though, no way to make him understand the nuances of his relationship with Sansa, why they do all the things they’ve done. 

“If nothing else, Jon, please believe that I would  _ never _ hurt Sansa. Your family has been good to me, and I care for you all deeply, as if they’re my own—” And isn’t  _ that _ an odd thing to say. He wonders if Catelyn Stark felt a chill, just now, somewhere in Winterfell. “I wouldn’t betray that kindness with anything but my most fervent devotion.” Strictly speaking, his most fervent devotion  _ should _ be reserved for his duties in protecting Robert Baratheon, and from the look in his eye, Jon has noticed. He doesn’t bother to pretend like he didn’t mean what he said.  _ Fuck Robert Baratheon, and fuck his wife, too.  _

“Why does she have night terrors, then?” Jon asks stubbornly, though Jaime can tell he’s beginning to soften. “What’s happened to her that has everyone so frightened? Father has people  _ tasting her food.” _

“It’s not my story to tell, Jon. Just know that there is no one in all of Westeros—and Essos besides—that I would trust more than you to keep those girls safe. You’ve done me proud. I would’ve knighted you years ago, If you’d’ve let me.” 

A dull flush spreads over Jon’s cheeks, and Jaime knows he’s pleased, albeit reluctantly. 

“There won’t be anymore impropriety,” Jon says, or rather, demands, and Jaime can’t help but chuckle. 

“As you say, Lord Commander Snow.” 

“I’m serious, Jaime!” 

He ruffles a hand over Jon’s curls, and Jon swats him away, but Jaime can spy the grin on the boy’s face, small though it may be. It'll do for now, but eventually, he and Sansa need to come clean, or people are going to get hurt. 


End file.
